GUILFORD COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA
~ BATTLE OF GUILFORD COURTHOUSE ~
~ BATTLE OF GUILFORD COURTHOUSE ~
This is a new and ambitious project, one which was triggered by inquiries from others. You may submit a known participant's name, but please give us the following information: (1) name, (2) dates and places of birth and death, (3) county and state of residence at the time of the battle, and (4) references to your sources for documentation.
Those who died in the battle, or soon afterwards as a result of their wounds, will be shown with their names in red.
If you don't know whether your ancestor has ever been recorded as a patriot participant, the bad news is that nothing has been published on this subject yet. The good news is that the park office does keep a card file on those who have been documented to date, and the source of that documentation. You may contact them by e-mail (see "contact us" on the website shown immediately below this paragraph) -
please remember to include the information listed above - but also please remember that their staff members are very knowledgeable about the military history of the park, but they are not genealogists! They do not have storage room for family group sheets, descendant reports, etc. However, they would appreciate very much receiving scans or photocopies of original documentation, such as vouchers, pension applications, testimony offered by fellow patriots, etc. Please send those copies to the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park office.
I will accept submissions for this list, but I do want to know - and provide to others - the sources involved. Those can range from "family tradition" to the pension application with its ID number, etc. I would like to limit most submissions to 100 words or less, and 50 or so is better. If you want to submit the text of the pension application for the website military archives, I can assist you with that, and then reference people to that archive. I want to balance a need for succinct listings with the need for references to documentation, whatever that may be. Also, please remember that this particular Guilford NCGenWeb list is a work in progress, and it will probably remain so forever! I do not have the time to hunt these men down, so I am dependent on your submissions. Please state that is your purpose when contacting me, and give me the source data for your ancestor's participation in the battle. Thank you!
Katherine Dick Benbow, county coordinator
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SAMUEL ALLEN
~ see pension application: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nc/orange/military/revwar/pensions/allen362gmt.txtJOHN ALLISON ~ born 28 August 1770, Orange (later Guilford) Co.; married Mary Shaw; d. 1852 Warren Co., TN. He was led by Capt. John Forbis who lived on the Alamance with neighbors Allisons, Kerrs, Paisleys, Wileys and others. Presbyterian minister David Caldwell said, "I have frequently heard the bravery of two very young men on that day spoken of. The men were John Rankin and John Allison. A number were assembled in the morning at the house of Allison’s father, mostly females and old men. Allison's house was about two miles to the left of Greene’s army and when the big guns began to fire, these young men sprang to their rifles. The females, divining their intention, laid hold on them, and, crying and shrieking begged them not to go; but they freed themselves from the hold of their friends, and ran to join their companions. They fell in with Col. Campbell’s mountaineers and fought with them until they retreated, after which they were fired at by a company of British regulars, but escaped unhurt." ["The Old North State in 1776," Vol. 1 & 2, by Caruthers, pp. 141 & 146; & "Life of David Caldwell," by Caruthers, pp. 230-34]
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ABSALOM BAKER ~ see
information THOMAS BANDY ~ from Cumberland County VA. Served as a private in Capt. Jothan Richardson’s Co., Col. Lynch’s VA Regiment, in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Also served under Captain Leftwich’s VA company in Siege of Yorktown. Pension #W5782.
JAMES P. BARNETT ~ see pension application
CAPT. ROBERT BELL ~ see pension application
CAPT. WILLIAM BETHELL (SR) ~ 1744-1804.
Commanded a company of North Carolina Militia in the Battle of Guilford
Courthouse. The Reidsville Chapter of the NSDAR was named for him.
After the Rev. War, he represented Rockingham County in the NC House &
Senate for a number of years. Upon his return to the county in 1792,
he served as Clerk of Court until his death. (Rockingham County was
created out of the northern third of Guilford in 1785.) JESSE BROCK ~ see pension application:
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nc/guilford/military/revwar/pensions/brock444gmt.txt
BRIG. GEN. JOHN BUTLER ~ one of the leaders of the 1500 North Carolina militia.
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PVT. JOHN CAMPBELL ~ b. 1750 Albemarle Co. VA; married Frances (__?__) in Feb 1779. Arrived in Amherst Co. VA with father George & mother Catharine c. 1765; lived there until death 1-29-1838. Farmer & mill owner. Drafted 1781 at Amherst Co. VA, & fought under Capt John Loving 4 months. At Siege of Yorktown, & fought at Guilford under Capt. James Dillard's volunteer rifle company. [File W18869, Series M805, Roll 156, Image 835; "Revolutionary War Pension Records," Volume 15, page 20, pension certificate issued Sept 1833 (act of 1832); pension certificate #16593 Virginia, issued 11 March 1842 (Act of 1838), John Campbell b. 1750, of Amherst Co. VA, widow Frances.]
COL. WILLIAM CAMPBELL ~ leader of a group of two hundred riflemen. ["Guilford Courthouse: Nathanael Greene's Victory in Defeat, March 15, 1781," by John Hairr; p. 75]
THOMAS CARTER ~ Born c.1746 in MD, according to pension application. Private in Virginia Militia. Pension application (Series M805, Roll 167, Image 267, File S8150) states he was in Battle of Guilford Courthouse. Pension started 19 February 1833, at age 88. See also: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/nc/pensions/1835roll.txt. Mentioned in pension application of Ansel Fields (W-10021). Living in Rockingham County, NC, in 1840 federal census & 1841 NC census. Will in Rockingham Co. Old Wills Book, page 14. Rev. War Claim in NC State Archives dated 20 March 1843.
PLEASANT CHILDERS ~ b. c. 1763 in NC, d. 25 April 1838 Pike Co. KY. In May 1780, at age 16, he enlisted in the 5th Regiment NC Continental Line as a Private under the command of Captain Parker of the Regiment, & Colonel Armstrong, NC Continental Line, for nine months. During that time, Childer's regiment marched through Georgia. Earlier, he was in the Battle of Stono Ferry. Childers was in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse according to his court statement. He served with the NC Continental Line until May 1781, when he was honorably discharged at Cross Creek NC. He married Sarah Jeffries in VA in 1785, & moved to Floyd Co. KY by 1805. http://www.sandybasindar.org/our_patriots.html [Rev. War Pension Records of Pleasant Childers, Pension Claim # R-1924. "Early Families of Eastern & Southeastern KY", William C. Kozee, GPC, Inc., copyright 1973, p. 137. "Roster of soldiers from NC in the American Rev.", D.A.R. of NC. Durham, NC. 1932 :332, 514. "A Roster of Rev. Ancestors of the Indiana D. A. R.: Commemoration of the U.S.A. Bicentennial", July 4, 1976, Evansville, Ind.: Unigraphic, 1976, Vol. 1, p. 116. Pension Roll of 1835, Vol. III, KY, p. 218. "Statement of Floyd County KY." Rev. Soldiers in KY, Roll of Citizens of KY, p. 72. "Floyd County KY Pensioners Under the Act of March 18, 1818."]
JACOB CLAPP ~ born 1747-1749, died 1832. Jacob was a private, then lieutenant, & finished as a captain. He was a lieutenant in the NC Line (DAR#1549507). Revolutionary War Pension Claim File # W.17624. He fought in the Battle of Guilford Court House, & served tours of duty from 1775 to 1781. He married Barbara Foust about 1772, and they had a long list of children.
THEODOSIUS COOK ~ see information
THOMAS COOK ~ see
information GIDEON CREWS ~ born c. 1730 in Virginia, d. 1824, was evidently a private in the 6th Virginia Battalion of Continental Forces commanded by Lt. Col. James Hendrick. He signed the Oath of Allegiance to NC against King George III. One record says he received a pension for his war service -- and it is also said his musket is on display at the Guilford Courthouse Battleground Park. NC Archives Revolutionary Army Accounts, Volume I, page 88, folio 4: Crews received 9 pounds, 10 shillings, 3 pence on 13 March, 1784 for his war service. References: http://www.tngenweb.org/revwar/counties/knox.htm & military records: Vol. War 4, page 140 Vol. (6VR) W.D. page 124, 8, 1352.
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GEN. WILLIAM RICHARDSON DAVIE ~ General Greene's quartermaster. ["Guilford Courthouse: Nathanael Greene's Victory in Defeat, March 15, 1781," by John Hairr; p. 75]
JAMES DICK ~ born c. 1760, d. 1826; resident of Guilford County; three different family members heard him tell his stories about the battle, which occurred partly on his father's land (the Liberty Oak stood on William Dick's land), but there is no pension application or any other documentation that has been found yet.
INSPECTOR GEN. HENRY "HAL" DIXON ~ of Caswell County; born c. 1750 in Granville County; present at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in the capacity of Inspector General over the Militia. He was seriously wounded at the Battle of Eutaw Springs, 1782, and he died from his injuries in July 1782. [pp. 42-43, "The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," by Thomas E. Baker]
PVT. WILLIAM DREW ~ from Delaware, he enlisted on May 24, 1778, and belonged to Capt. Kirkwood's company of light infantry in the Continental Army.
[pp. 60-62, "The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," by Thomas E. Baker]
SHADRACH DUFF ~ born 1746 in Ireland; died 15 March 1781; family oral tradition says that he died on the courthouse steps, but there is no known proof of that story.
[http://kentuckyexplorer.com/nonmembers/00-06030.html]
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BRIG. GEN. THOMAS EATON ~ one of the leaders of the 1500 North Carolina militia.
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CAPT. GRIFFIN
FAUNTLEROY ~ born 1754 in Northumberland County, Virginia, he began his service in 1776 as a lieutenant in the Seventh Virginia Continental Infantry. In 1777 he resigned that commission and "took up a similar post in the First Continental Light Dragoons in November 1777. He remained with this regiment, rising to the rank of captain before he was mortally wounded and left on the battlefield at Guilford Courthouse. The British captured the wounded Capt. Fauntleroy but paroled him prior to their withdrawal on March 18, 1781. He died a few days later."
pp. 70-71, "The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," by Thomas E. Baker) [This source gives a middle name of Murdock, but researchers believe that is not the same individual.]
JAMES FIELDLING ~ perhaps of Greensville County, Virginia. John Davis of Greene County, Ohio, returned to Greensville County in 1835 to visit relatives and gave depositions mentioning James Fielding.
ANSEL FIELD/ FIELDS ~ born 5 January 1749 (or 1750) in Hanover, VA. Moved to Guilford (later Rockingham) Co. at age 12. While a resident of Guilford Co., enlisted in Capt. John Leak’s Company -- Col. James Martin’s NC Regiment, Major Robin Ralston, General Rutherford. Stated that he was elected Sergeant, but did not have documentation. Fought at Guilford Courthouse. Resided in Rockingham Co, until 1831. Died in Sugar Creek Township, Shelby Co., Indiana, October 13, 1835 (alternate date: Oct. 1, 1834; several dates in Oct 1834 or 1835 were given).
See pension application: http://files.usgwarchives.org/nc/guilford/military/revwar/pensions/fields162gmt.txt
CAPT. ARTHUR FORBIS
~ "(called Col. Forbis because he commanded a regiment that day) and a company from his neighborhood, including Allisons, Kerrs, Paisleys and Wileys, were placed in the front rank. While other militia companies ignominiously broke and fled, these men bravely held their position, fired two volleys according to commands, and retired in good order, leaving a great many British dead on the field. Capt. Forbis fell mortally wounded, and a tall marble monument was erected to his honor in Alamance cemetery in 1860. During this battle many women of this church were praying .... After the fight the women visited the field seeking missing relatives and ministering to the wounded. One of them found the gallant Forbis dying and brought him away on her horse."
["A History of Alamance Presbyterian Church"]
COL. BENJAMIN FORD ~ "The First and Second Maryland regiments, commanded respectively by Col. John Gunby and Col. Benjamin Ford, formed the left wing of the American third line.... The First was comprised of veterans of various Maryland regiments shattered at the battle of Camden; while the Second consisted largely of untried recruits. The performance of the two regiments reflected the disparity of their experience. Gunby's First Maryland [Regiment] fought like demons, crushing an attack by elements of the British Thirty-Third Regiment, then turning about to savage the Second Battalion of Guards as they worked their way into the rear of the Marylanders position. This critical threat to the third line developed when Ford's Second Maryland fled after offering only feeble resistance to the advancing Guards. It was the flight of the Second Maryland and the consequent threat of encirclement of his Continentals that led Gen. Greene to order the retreat that ended the battle of Guilford Courthouse.
[pp. 63-64, "The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," by Thomas E. Baker]
More information on this man can be found in "The Fauntleroy Family," by Robert H. Fauntleroy, published 1952. Virginia Historical Magazine published an article on him, also [no volume number or date available]. Capt. Fauntleroy was the son of Bushrod Fauntleroy and wife Elizabeth Fouchee. Katherine Griffin was a great-grandmother of Griffin Fauntleroy, and a number of descendants carried the "Griffin" name -- hence the confusion.
GATTUS (GAITUS) FOX ~ see
pension application PVT. PETER FRANCISCO ~ probably born in 1760 in the Portugese Azores; taken from his family and abandoned on a dock at City Point, Virginia in June 1965; indentured to Judge Anthony Winston; grew to be 6 feet 6 inches tall and 260 pounds. In 1776 he joined the Tenth Virginia Regiment. "In May 1780 he joined Col. William Mayo's militia regiment and marched south with the army of Horatio Gates. Gates met disaster at Camden, South Carolina, and one of the most enduring Peter Francisco legends was born. It was in this battle that Francisco was said to have saved an American cannon from capture by carrying it from the battlefield. Following Camden, Francisco joined a mounted unit recruited in Prince Edward County, Virginia, by Capt. Thomas Watkins. Watkins's company rode in Washington's cavalry charge at Guilford Courthouse. Armed with a huge saber, Francisco was conspicuous in this action, later writing that he 'killed four of the enemy in the presence of Colo. Washington who was near him.' Seriously wounded by a British bayonest thrust that pinned his leg to his saddle, Francisco collapsed and was left for dead on the battlefield. Found alive by a Quaker farmer, he recovered and joined Washington's army for the Yorktown campaign. Francisco's most notable post war service was a Sergeant at Arms of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1825 until his death in 1831."
[pp. 72-76, "The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," by Thomas E. Baker]
JESSE FRANKLIN ~ "Among Winston's 'Surry County Boys' were Richard Taliaferro and Jesse Franklin. Both had ridden horses to Guilford Courthouse and had tied them nearby. When the final retreat began, both men ran for their mounts. Franklin made good his escape, but Taliaferro was killed...."
(p. 78, "The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," by Thomas E. Baker)
This man's life story and the legends about him led to a book, Peter Francisco - Virginia Giant, by Janet Shaffer; Moore Publishing Company, Durham, NC, 1976.
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SAMUEL GANN SR. ~ see information
WILLIAM GANNON ~ see pension application
CAPT. JOSIAH GATES ~ see information
JOHN GIBSON ~ see information
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PVT. CORNELIUS HAGNEY ~ born in Danfanagh, Ireland, in 1734, was living in New Castle County, Delaware, when he enlisted. He was a member of Capt. Kirkwood's company of light infantry in the Continental Army. His wife was Katherine. [pp. 60-62, "The Monuments at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park," by Thomas E. Baker]
WILLIAM HALL ~ see information
HENRY HARDIN ~ see
information CAPT. RICHARD HARRISON ~ of Granville County, NC.
["Guilford Courthouse: Nathanael Greene's Victory in Defeat, March 15, 1781," by John Hairr; pp. 86-87]
LT. JAMES HEARD ~ with the dragoons under Lt. Col. Lee's command.
["Guilford Courthouse: Nathanael Greene's Victory in Defeat, March 15, 1781," by John Hairr; pp. 79-80]
CPT. THOMAS HELM ~ born 22 July 1748; from Bedford Co., VA. Served under command of Colonel Charles Lynch, Lynch's Riflemen. Killed at Battle of Guilford Courthouse 15 March 1781. Commissioned as Lt. 1779. Thomas Helm is the son of Moses Helm, Bedford County, VA. Married Nancy Ann Gilbert 31 Jan 1774, in Bedford Co., VA; they had 4 children: William (1775), James (1776), Samuel (1778), Elizabeth (1780). References:
#1, #2, #3, #4.JAMES HILTON ~ moved to KY after the war; states in his pension application that "in the year 1778, in the County of Guilford, North Carolina, he joined Captain MCADOW’s Light Horse company in the minute service in which service he continued for upwards of four years, during which time he was in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse and six different skirmishes with the Tories and British..."
[pension application in USGenWeb Archives]JOHN HOLCOMBE ~ commanded a regiment of Lawson's Virginians. ["Guilford Courthouse: Nathanael Greene's Victory in Defeat, March 15, 1781," by John Hairr; pp. 107-108]
CAPT. JOSEPH HOSKINS ~ born about 1751 in Pennsylvania; died in Guilford County in 1799, between 24 July and 31 August. [Joseph Hoskins will, Guilford County, NC original wills, North Carolina State Archives, FHL microfilm 1,571,683]. He resided in Guilford County at the time of the battle, his house being seized by Cornwallis and used as his headquarters for staging the battle. The house was also used as a hospital for both sides after the battle. [City of Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department, *Tannenbaum Park Site of the Historic Hoskins House,* (Greensboro, NC: author, no date]. See the Revolutionary War pension file of Samuel Rayl who was living in 1834 in Jefferson Co., TN, and stated that in March 1781 he was drafted at Guilford Court House by Captain Joseph Haskins [sic] for a term of three months as a private soldier.
ALEXANDER HOWARD ~ perhaps of Greensville County, Virginia. John Davis of Greene County, Ohio, returned to Greensville County in 1835 to visit relatives and gave depositions mentioning Alexander Howard.
LT. COL. JOHN HOWARD ~ an officer with Col. Gunby and the Marylanders. ["Guilford Courthouse: Nathanael Greene's Victory in Defeat, March 15, 1781," by John Hairr; pp. 116-117]
ISAAC HUGER ~ leader of the Virginia Brigade of two regiments, which held the right wing of the third line. ["Guilford Courthouse: Nathanael Greene's Victory in Defeat, March 15, 1781," by John Hairr; p. 78]
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